Payson still loses 3A East ground after cruising at Fountain Hills

September 19, 2021 by George Werner, AZPreps365


Junior Payson quarterback Dexter Waterman, center, laughs with his team while holding the Battle of the Beeline trophy. The Longhorns secured the piece of Arizona State Route 87 with a 31-6 win at Fountain Hills. (George Werner/AzPreps365.com)

In what, once again, may be the deepest region in 3A Conference football, Payson High School continues to rise over an early setback to meet the challenges of being back in the 3A East.

Unfortunately for head coach Bryan Burke, four other rivals have risen with his 3-1 Longhorns, dropping them to fifth place until at least October even after their second straight win, 31-6 at Fountain Hills, Thursday, Sept. 16.

“We had kind of a rough week of practice, a short week of preparation,” said Burke, whose sole setback was the team’s lowest-scoring game, a 19-16 loss Week Two at Eastmark High School in Mesa. “Our kids struggled [then] offensively, obviously, and our practices have been frustrating on the offensive end.”

Since then, Burke and offensive coordinator Curt LeBlanc--back in Payson after a head coaching stint at Scottsdale’s Coronado High School--have challenged and opened up the offense.

This enabled junior quarterback Dexter Waterman, for the Battle of the Beeline at the next high school south of Payson along State Route 87 in Fountain Hills, to get “a little more out in space,” in Burke’s words. 

“We kind of let him fly,” Burke said. “Last year, we had a pretty good quarterback, so [Waterman] was a receiver and kind of a slot guy that worked well offensively for us. He’s really savvy, really smart with the ball [and] makes good decisions.”

Waterman, an all-region cornerback last season when COVID-19 cancellations forced the Longhorns into the Metro East, completed 15 passes for two touchdowns in just his fourth start behind center, setting new career highs of 148 yards passing along with 73 yards rushing--almost all in the first half.

If Waterman was the offensive fire for the Longhorns, though, senior Connor Hatch was its spark, giving Payson its second straight game with a punt return for a touchdown. His 73-yard scramble down the sidelines opened the scoring, 7-0, before the Longhorns’ first offensive series two minutes into the game.

“If you had any glimpse of how he is in the locker room, on the field, in the classroom, moments like that are so much more special because he’s such a great kid,” Burke said. “I was so damn proud of Connor Hatch, to see him make the plays that he did.”

Hatch only caught three passes on the night, but two of them were 50-50 throws from Waterman in which Hatch literally outmuscled the covering Falcon cornerback. The first, coming after Payson senior Nick Dimbat recovered a first-quarter fumble by Fountain Hills senior playmaker Savion Boone, went for 45 yards, bailing Waterman out of a third-down-and-long situation.

Junior running back and leading Payson rusher Caleb Marinelli would then power it in from three yards out for a two-touchdown lead.

“Caleb was money on those third-and-five [yards to go] situations,” Burke said of his leading rusher. “Almost consistently, every time, he’d come up with six, come up with six.”

The last Hatch catch gave Payson that cushion back in the second quarter after Fountain Hills had closed the gap to 14-6 with 20-plus-yard completions, first to senior Jake Barnard, then to junior Casey Osborne with less than two minutes to play in the first.

“We had some scary moments,” Burke laughed. “This is probably the best one-runner, two-receiver combo that we’re probably going to see in the state this year, between Boone and Barnard. They’re studs.”

But the Falcons failed to convert the extra point. Then after Waterman’s 15-yard scramble nine minutes before halftime set up first down and goal, his four-yard quick toss found Hatch in the back of the end zone for a 21-6 advantage. 

“He’s probably our best catching receiver we have,” Burke said. “But he’s really opened up as a big-play threat, and it’s really a tribute to his work ethic and his commitment.”

After the Payson defense clamped down on Boone and fellow upperclassman Calvin Lupien to give the ball back to its offense on the Falcons 32-yard-line, Waterman left no doubt in junior wideout Wyatt Ashton’s mind, hitting him perfectly in stride for the 28-6 lead with 4:15 to play in the half.

“Dexter really came out of his shell,” Burke said. “He opened up his legs, and his ability to run the ball and get tough yards on the ground helped him open up and throw it a lot better. He had a lot more confidence.”

But he was not done. The Longhorns defense again gave its offense the ball in Fountain Hills territory, and Waterman’s moves set up a 46-yard field goal by junior kicker Mike Dominguez to close the first half.

“Our goal was to make them one-dimensional by shutting down the run, which I think we did,” Burke said. “Then let our d[efensive] b[ack]s go out and run matchups, run some man [coverage] at times.”

Thanks in large part to that defense, it would turn out to be all the scoring Payson would need to hoist the Beeline Highway hardware. Falcons junior quarterback Spencer Nelson led a sustained drive to what he thought was their second touchdown of the night, only to be shut down inside the Longhorn 1-yard-line halfway through the third quarter.

“Our kids’ preparation set us apart defensively,” Burke recalled. “We weren’t out of position; we didn’t make a wrong adjustment to a formation.”

Fountain Hills never mounted a serious threat after that goal-line stand, with junior linebacker Ayden Ormand returning another fumble 23 yards to make it official with seven minutes to play.

“Defense, we did our job: brought our lunch pails and went to work,” Burke said. “So for us to come out and execute the way we did was absolutely awesome.”